Another Step in the Process

Yesterday we received our I-800A approval. We have been waiting since May 24th, and the wait has been brutal. I've been praying for patience and speed!
We still have many steps and long waits, but we are one step closer to Mollie.

Pre-Approval

We have been officially matched!
As I wrote in my last post, we had placed a little girl on hold in order to get more information about her. Unfortunately, as difficult as it was, we decided to take her off hold. Her medical needs were very serious, and we felt it was too much for our family. Letting her go was hard - we had prayed for her every night - but we knew that she was in God's care and that the right family would find her.
In the process of getting more information about her, we were sent a few videos of another little girl. While these new videos were sent to us "accidentally," we know that this was God's plan all along. This precious girl is a little younger, which fits our family better, and her medical needs are mild. We immediately placed her on hold, sent her files in for review, and continued to pray.
Today we received our PA, or pre-approval, for her adoption. We have a new daughter!

Yay!

All of my CANs have been received, and our Homestudy is complete! I've filled out the I800A and will take that to our agency today. Real progress.
We still have a little girl on hold, trying to get more information. We're reviewing her medical files and have requested updated photos and video. I feel like we need to make this decision soon - I actually already told the girls that this wasn't the right little girl for our family, so I feel torn every day. My prayers are that she is being loved and cared for, and that she find her forever family quickly - whether that is us or another family. It is in God's hands.
 Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans I have for you," declared the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”.

Making Progress

Our Homestudy is in final review, although it's still missing CANs (Child Abuse and Neglect clearances) from two states. Some things are just really slow, and I'm trying to appreciate these lessons in patience! So, even though this stage isn't totally complete yet, it does feel like we've finally made significant progress and are on our way to finding our little girl.
We have actually placed a hold on one little girl on the Special Focus list. We have a lot of questions about her file, but I'm confident that God will provide those answers clearly and quickly so that we will be able to make an informed decision. I'm at peace about the process, because I know that our little girl is in China waiting for us to find her, and God is directing our path.
I strongly believe that the lengthy paperwork process is important for teaching us to remain calm, vigilant, and patient. The road is rocky, and filled with many forks and dead ends. By learning to negotiate the paperwork, we are learning to trust in the process and not let our emotions take over when faced with decisions and challenges. All very important lessons.

Step Two

Last week we had our final interview for our Home Study. This process is long, frustrating, difficult, and even scary at times. But we're working through it, taking it at our own pace, and learning so much along the way. We still have a long way to go, and the paperwork continues to seem insurmountable, but it feels like we're finally in the second trimester. We're talking about it more, telling our friends what we're doing and praying for our new little girl every day.
The next step is to finish the paperwork and assemble our Dossier. I hope we'll get this completed in the next month.